Messier 26
| Messier 26 | |
|---|---|
 Open cluster Messier 26 Credit: Hillary Mathis, Vanessa Harvey, REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA | |
| Observation data (J2000.0 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 18h 45m 18.0s[1] |
| Declination | −09° 23′ 00″[1] |
| Distance | 5,160 ly (1,582 pc)[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 8.0[3] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 14′[3] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 11 ly[4] |
| Estimated age | 85.3[1] million years |
| Other designations | Messier 26, NGC 6694,[5] Cr 389, C 1842-094 |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Scutum |
Messier 26, also known as NGC 6694, is an open cluster of stars in the southern constellation of Scutum. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.[a] This 8th magnitude cluster is a challenge to find in ideal skies with typical binoculars, where it can be, with any modern minimum 3-inch (76 mm) aperture device. It is south-southwest of the open cluster Messier 11 and is 14′ across.[3] About 25 stars are visible in a telescope with a 150–200 mm (6–8 in) aperture.[6]
M26 spans a linear size of 22[4] light years across with a tidal radius of 25 light-years,[7] and is at a distance of 5,160[2] light years from the Earth. The brightest star is of magnitude 11[6] and the age of this cluster has been calculated to be 85.3[1] million years. It includes one known spectroscopic binary system.[8]
An interesting feature of M26 is a region of low star density near the nucleus. A hypothesis was that it was caused by an obscuring cloud of interstellar matter between us and the cluster, but a paper by James Cuffey suggested that this is not possible and that it really is a "shell of low stellar space density".[9] In 2015, Michael Merrifield of the University of Nottingham said that there is, as yet, no clear explanation for the phenomenon.[10]
Gallery
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Map showing the location of M26 (Roberto Mura)
See also
[edit | edit source]Footnotes and references
[edit | edit source]Footnotes
[edit | edit source]- ^ On June 20
References
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External links
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- Messier 26, SEDS Messier pages
- Messier 26 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
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